Mindshare Video: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

As new technology develops at rapid rates, it’s easy to be fascinated by the latest devices. But while it’s always important to include test-and-learn as part of your strategy, brands must still embrace tech trends carefully or risk losing big.

Look no further than Second Life for a cautionary tale.  In the early 2000s, experts predicted that this virtual world, which lets users create avatars to interact, shop and consume media, would be the future of the internet and marketing.  It was supposed to revolutionize life as we knew it -- but it failed.

Fast forward to 2012 and Google Glass was expected to be our new way of seeing the world, displaying digital information through wearable headsets.  It didn’t do well.  The same can be said for when Snap launched Spectacles in 2016 -- although version two of Spectacles launched at the end of  April, so we’ll have to wait and see how those go!

The fact is that our brains are often hijacked by novelty.  Whether it fails or succeeds our “cult of the new” mentality keeps us distracted by the latest thing.  Just look at breakout ice cream brand Halo Top, which garnered a lot buzz in the press following a 2,500% sales increase in 2016.  In 2018, the company has continued to grow market share and attract a lot of attention.

And yet we ignore the fact that 85% of CPG products fail.  Blame “Survivorship Bias,” a tendency to focus on success stories while forgetting failures.  This bias even happens with successful leading brands like Amazon, Google and Apple -- all have introduced failed products in between their successful launches.

So what are the takeaways here for marketers?  Ultimately, there’s no one silver bullet for your media strategy.  We’re in an era where there’s no shortage of new tech trends and fads. Some will rise to the top, and some will go the way of Juicero, the pricy connected juicer that went out of business last year.

Always check Shiny New Objects against scale and marketing truths.  And lean on agency partners for their broader view to help navigate the fast-moving tech space.  Remember that first-mover advantage isn’t necessarily always an advantage.  Make strategic decisions about what is relevant to your brands and your customers.

For more episodes of Culture Vulture Live and information on the latest in adaptive marketing visit MindshareInTheLoop.com.

Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleagues.

The opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author and/or subject(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated writers.